smiths looked cheap and didn't have the high tech under the skin that the german motogadget classic did. i'm bracing m'self for the seat issue. it looks simpler to buy the cast ready made (discovolante?) and then have your own upholsterer do the rest. yours is looking good.
Thanks! I was hoping to find an LED tail light, but they don't make them in that size. The LED ones are all at least 4" diameter, this is more like 3". I wanted something big enough to be NOTICED in Florida... we have a lot of blue-hairs here in la-la land that don't seem to see much .... If we can add them in somehow that looks good, I will add LED light bars or something, as well. IF it was legal, I would consider a strobe!
Seat progress....! Got one coat of the ole rattlecan red on, last night. I figured that a gloss coat would give me more reflection to find the dings, dimples and unfair parts that need filler and work. Then this morning, couldn't stand the suspense, so I plunked it on the bike... The plan is to have black down the middle, a-la-tank racing stripe. The debate is whether to make the strip under the seat pad black, or red.... What do you think? Seeking opinions....... or whatever.....! I was thinking of black under, but now that I see the red, I am kinda likin' it... actually, kinda LOVIN' IT!!!! Wooohooo!!! So, do tell...................... I am all ears!
I like it......I would go with black, but then I like almost everything black.....you should make the wheels black too. How are you going to cover the seat pan and attach to it? Leather? Vinyl?Adhesive? Screws? Bolts? Upholstery fasteners? also, are you going to butt right up to/ form fit to the tank or will you leave a gap? Looks awesome, way to be regular with posts and picture updates...these things seem to have a way of trailing off when there is a lull in the project... I love the look of the modified fender and subframe though, I would love to do something similar to mine.
Thanks! this really has been fun, and needless to say, the closer it gets to being done, the more exciting it is!
Awesome thread. Just found it. I've always loved cafe's especially boxers. When I was 15 my dad and I bought a '66 Mustang for $400 and worked on it together for years. Really great activity that taught me alot.
Yep! Though the new tires are sitting in the garage, so gonna have to let that old faithful air go....... so sad!
Just have to get out on a ride today, beautiful day here now that Hanna has moved on to y'all up in Carolina..... Photo op!
I'd bob that rear fender- though you would get the dreaded wet-ass in those frequent pop storms you fellers are fond of having. But man, you'd be wet in style.
lucky bastard. Hanna is completely ruining my saturday. I'm really diggin those bags on your /2 ! And that seat really, really is coming along great. I just picked up a king/queen for my goose that I'm going to make a solo out of, a bit different style than yours though
They were a good find. I had been looking on eBay for some sort of old bags, and one day I had the idea of searching through the horse tack. Found these: they were together on a fairly short strap with a hole through it: evidently you would use this type of bag for tools or something. They are old, home-made, and the owner engraved his name and what is probably a ranch brand onto the strap. The leather must be at least an 1/8" thick, reallly heavy, so they will never ever wear out! Here are a couple of photos of the builders mark: I ended up cutting the strap that held the two sides together, but I cut it in two places so that I could save the owner name and brand on the middle piece, then just laced them to fit the bike. When asked, it's a good place for the .357..........
Happy guy! Finally got the tail and brake light installed and wired, along with the rear turn signals....! All is functional, after devising a way to have the seat lift off using the original locking pin plus another pin on the right side. This light-in-the-seat means that, in order to remove the seat, we had to leave a long enough tail to be able to open it up, and we added some spade connectors for the tail, brake and ground wire so that the seat can be removed completely without cutting wires. Came out pretty OK, and the underseat tray is still useable as well: Pesky things done: Got the odometer working (had to do the "glue the gear back to the shaft" repair found here Got the blinkers working properly by correcting the wiring to the lights relay (originally the blinker indicator light stayed on, even though the blinkers were blinking!) Got the mickey-mouse wires from both perches for the clutch-relay and front-brake-switch secured by holding in place and carefully building up a black-silicone "grommet" So now its a beautiful afternoon and I am going to go "set the exhaust system paint" a little harder: it needs to be kept at 300, 500 and 600 degrees for 1/2 hr each before the paint is chemically cured But we all know it is just an excuse to get out for a little "repair bimble"
So this is "where it's at" as we used to say.....: I effed up on the paint, though.... I flipped the seat over while I was doing the wiring etc, and didn't realize how SOFT that paint still was, so I now have a very graphic imprint of cotton towelling in the black paint ..... Plus a hard twisted-rubbed spot... so, let it harden, sand and wetsand....again...... Today's project: tire r&r...........
Tire and wheel time: Scary how easy it is to take off one of these tires.... is it just coincidence that the little BMW tire tool fits perfectly under the rim so that you don't have to awkwardly step on it while using two hands to get to the next spot....? From letting air out of tire until the tube was out and the tire was off, maybe 10-15 minutes? Now the fun: paint those suckas BLACK......
While your craftsmanship is beyond reproach, I wonder if I could sit on that seat for more than a few miles But I have a bony ass. Good point re: those tire irons, I never thought of that. I understand you will add a few HP by painting the rims black. Maybe a red stripe down the spoke well? Or red hubs?